July, 2023

• 23 July

  Iran’s Anger Over Russia’s Position On Ormuz Islands Prompts Moscow To Back Down – Analysis

  

  The growing importance of Iran for the Russian Federation and the shift in relative power between the two countries has been highlighted by a remarkable set of exchanges between Tehran and Moscow over the past week. On July 12, Moscow signed on to a declaration by the Arab Gulf states …

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• 23 July

  Xi Jinping’s Vision For The Middle East – Analysis

  

  Chinese leader Xi Jinping clearly aspires to establish a new global economic order centered around Beijing, not Washington. However, a new global economic order cannot be built in a day. The immensity of this challenge has forced Xi to set his sights on a set of interim goals. These include …

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• 23 July

  Off The MAP: Ukraine And The Problems Of Expanding NATO – Analysis

  

  To join NATO, prospective members typically must follow a MAP, or membership action plan. The MAP has been NATO’s standard bureaucratic procedure to convert applicants into members for over two decades. After Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999, this plan was created to streamline the process. …

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• 23 July

  After the NATO Summit: Are We Already at War with Russia?

  

  Now that the dust has settled on the recent NATO summit in Vilnius, it is worth considering some of its longer-term implications. One of the most resounding absences from the discussion in Vilnius was what to do about Russia. Although Ukraine’s membership (or lack thereof), Sweden’s accession and debates around …

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• 23 July

  The battle for control of Yemen’s ports

  

  Analysis: The maritime objectives of Saudi Arabia and the UAE have played a key role in determining the war’s direction, with control over Yemen’s ports a major driver of the military and diplomatic strategies of all sides involved in the conflict. Despite fighting side by side in Yemen, the United …

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• 23 July

  Türkiye’s Syria Policy after Erdoğan’s Win

  

  Since the Syrian uprising began in 2011, Ankara has been drawn ever deeper into the crisis. Its approach will likely hold steady for now. But the choices it makes next matter for the fate of millions of Syrians. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s re-election has allayed fears among many Syrians …

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• 23 July

  Montenegro: Spajić’s Dual Citizenship A Serious Problem For NATO? – Analysis

  

  Landslide victory of anti-Đukanović block Early parliamentary elections in Montenegro were held on 11 June 2023. However, the official election results were publicized only on 14 July 2023. The parties that won the largest number of votes from the voters for the Parliament of Montenegro, which has 81 representatives, include …

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• 23 July

  Now Is The Time For Gulf Nations To Enhance Ties With Central Asia – Analysis

  

  The leaders of the five Central Asian states — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, known collectively as the C5 — met their Gulf Cooperation Council counterparts in Jeddah last week for a GCC-C5 summit. This gathering built on the success of a ministerial meeting between the C5 and GCC …

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• 23 July

  Brzezinski’s Warning – OpEd

  

  The Vilnius Summit Communique is a crude attempt to NATO-ize Washington’s list of enemies in order to enlist broader support for the impending global conflict. The intended targets of this campaign are Russia and China, the main opponents of the so-called “rules-based order”. Neither of these countries pose a direct …

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• 23 July

  The Afghanistan Lithium Great Game

  

  While the United States, along with its allies, left Afghanistan in August 2021 in spectacularly humiliating circumstances, the departure was never entirely complete, nor bound to be permanent. Since then, Washington has led the charge in handicapping those who, with a fraction of the resources, defeated a superpower and prevailed …

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